New College Choir’s Messiah project

In late December 2005, the choir teamed up with The Academy of Ancient Music for three performances of Messiah, directed by Edward Higginbottom, and with soloists Julia Gooding, Iestyn Davies, Andrew Kennedy and Giles Underwood. For the first performance on Thursday 15 December, shortly after the end of Michaelmas Term, the choir was in familiar surroundings—Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre. The other performances were on foreign soil; on 19 December in Italy in Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice, and two days later in Utrecht in the Netherlands.

New College Choir being applauded after performing ‘Messiah’ in Utrecht (photo CMH)

These performances were well received and were preparation for the Choir’s recording of the work with the same orchestra and again directed by Edward Higginbottom early in January. The 40 hours of recording sessions took place over a period of five days in the elegant 18th-century suroundings and spacious acoustic of St John’s Smith Square in London and resulted in what proves to be a very special recording. The recording is noteworthy since all the soprano solos are sung by trebles from the Choir, following a practice that Handel himself adopted in 1751 but which has rarely been followed since. The other soloists for the recording were Toby Spence tenor and Eamonn Dougan bass—both former members of the Choir—and Iestyn Davies counter-tenor.

‘Messiah’ recording session, St John’s Smith Square, January 2006

The whole Messiah Project has been funded by the Choir, supported by a phenomenally successful fundraising operation run jointly by the Choir Association and a group of parents of present and former choir members. The major focus of this effort has been the sponsorship of individual items of Messiah, with generous donations being received from New College itself, college alumni, Choir Association members and members of the general public.

The recording was officially released on 6 October with a performance of the work in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre marking the 30th anniversary of the appointment of Dr Edward Higginbottom as Fellow, Tutor and Lecturer in Music at New College, and his 60th birthday.

The Choir Association committee wishes to express its thanks to all who have contributed to the Appeal. Names of those who have sponsored individual tracks of the recording appear in the Messiah CD booklet.